RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, pictured in Nov. 2011, has rejected a call for better guidelines on when to call in outside investigators to probe suspect Mountie behaviour in order to retain “flexibility” and “discretion.”

Paulson rejected a call for better guidelines on when to call in outside investigators to probe suspect Mountie behaviour in order to retain “flexibility” and “discretion.”

The top Mountie has vowed to root out what he calls “bad apples” in the force in a bid to restore public trust in the RCMP.

But he believes a key recommendation published Wednesday by the Commission of Public Complaints Against the RCMP goes too far.

In his formal response to the report, Paulson said the broad wording of the policy regarding cases of a “serious or sensitive” nature “is to provide the necessary flexibility to decision-makers in exercising their discretion in different circumstances.”

“Their discretion must be exercised within the context of the policy as a whole, taking into consideration public interest, public confidence in the police generally and public confidence in the oversight and review of police conduct specifically.”

The civilian-led watchdog agency rapped four individual Mounties in the Kamloops, B.C. detachment after they became voyeurs of two female inmates having sex in a cell in August 2010. One woman was known as someone who had proclaimed herself HIV positive.

The Mounties’ failure to intervene “demonstrated a lack of professionalism and respect,” said interim commission chair Ian McPhail.

“These lapses were not merely personal failures but had the potential of damaging the reputation of the RCMP both locally and nationally.”

The agency concluded the RCMP did a reasonable and timely job of investigating its members, three of whom were later charged by the Crown with breach of trust by a public official.

But McPhail painted a picture of confusion around the decision on whether to keep the investigation in-house, and challenged the assignment of a senior Kamloops officer who described himself as a “good friend” of one of the Mounties under investigation.

McPhail said the force must guard against “the perception of bias in situations where the RCMP is investigating its own members.”

Craig Callens, then chief superintendant and now Paulson’s top deputy in charge of British Columbia, said he “simply did not believe that the circumstances met the threshold for serious or sensitive, even though he believed that the circumstances were salacious and sensational,” said the report.

Although Callens’ decision may be reasonable with the lack of current guidance, the report noted most other senior officers involved in the case disagreed with him.

They thought an external investigation should have been conducted under the new external review policy unveiled months earlier.

The watchdog agency report advised clearer guidelines and documentation of the reasons to opt for an internal review would boost public confidence.

Paulson agreed with many of the agency’s other findings, including a recommendation that one of the Mounties involved, Cpl. Rick Brown, the watch commander, be offered “operational guidance concerning the importance of appropriate leadership and supervision.”

“I am deeply disappointed in Corporal Brown’s failure to demonstrate leadership and I will direct that operational guidance be provided to him,” said Paulson.

The other three RCMP members who watched without intervening to stop the two women were Const. Evan Elgee, Const. Steve Zaharia, and Const. Bryce Fieghen.

But Paulson quibbled with whether the public would have had a perception of bias given Brown’s friendship with a key investigator, saying that it only raised the “potential for a perception of bias.”

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